Volume Adjustable Container System

ABSTRACT

A volume adjustable container system is provided, the system including at least a sliding track system disposed longitudinally along the inside walls of a container, wherein the sliding track system further comprises a plurality of variably and scalably adjustable restraint receiving members. Association of the longitudinally disposed track system with a vertically disposed track system; the addition or substitution of other similar track systems disposed in neighboring configurations arranged throughout a wide range of angular sweep; and a wide variety of restraining elements and restraining element receiving members, are also provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to freight storage andtransportation services, and in a specific though non-limitingembodiment to methods and means for safely and efficiently adjusting theinterior volume space of an otherwise fixed-volume storage andtransportation container.

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, freight storage and transportation carriers have employeda wide variety of fixed-volume container solutions for packing andmoving freight loads. For example, train cars, shipping containers,vans, trailer trucks, etc., are all well-known means for storing andtransporting freight.

One problem with fixed-volume containers, however, is that the freightloads placed within are seldom, if ever, the same volume as thecontainer. Consequently, shifting, sliding, tilting and other loadmovements frequently lead to damaged freight and dangerously unbalancedloads.

One method of dealing with such issues is to simply load the freight ascompactly as possible near the front of the container, and then usestraps or the like secured to the inside surfaces of the container torestrict movement of the load. In this embodiment, the straps can befixed to an interior container surface using any of a variety of knownconnectors, for example, durable woven shipping straps, c-shaped clipsor s-shaped clips can be fixed to appropriate receiving membersestablished at fixed positions upon the container walls.

An obvious shortcoming of this solution, however, is that in instanceswhere the backmost portion of the freight load is not lined up with thefixed receiving members, strap buckles or the like must be tightenedusing bucklers or the like to account for volume discrepancy.

As those of ordinary skill in the relevant arts will readily appreciate,however, securing a load in this manner can lead to uneven pressurebeing applied to corners of the load by the restraining straps, asrestraint tension will naturally be greatest at points nearest thebuckling of a tightening device. Consequently, the corners and othersurfaces of more delicate freight are frequently damaged, and rearwardand lateral movement are in any event inefficiently restrained.

Another problem with this method is that freight is typically storedonly toward the front of the container out of an abundance of caution,since the forward wall of the container acts as a stop for forwardfreight movement, and for the reasons discussed above rearward andlateral freight movement are not reliably restrained. Moreover, loadsending in an angled orientation (for example, irregularly shapedequipment such as many pianos, etc.), can only be restrained byfastening restraints to opposing restraint receiving means.

Another common method for restraining freight, used either with or thewithout the load restraint method described above, is to furtherrestrain shaking and other lateral movements by covering the entire loadwith netting, blankets, etc., and then again using a torqueing forcesuch as a ratcheted buckler or the like to tighten straps or the likedown over the load. Again, however, more delicate loads can easilybecome damaged in this manner.

Yet another issue with the foregoing freight restraint approaches isthat it is very difficult to load and pack a container such thatmultiple loads, for example, loads originating from different sourcesand/or customers, are easily segregated, since the ability to secure theloads using straps and other types of restraints is functionally limitedby the fixed placement of the restraint connector receiving meansinstalled along the wall of the container.

So, while plural loads can be added to a container using themethodologies of the prior art, there remains to date no efficient andvolume adjustable system for effectively subdividing the interior spaceof a storage container so that loads can be segregated (or not) andtransported in a safe, reliable manner that limits shaking and movementin all directions while still allowing for well-balanced, delicatefreight moving operations to be carried out.

SUMMARY

A volume adjustable container system is provided, the system includingat least a sliding track system disposed longitudinally along the insidewalls of a container, wherein the sliding track system further comprisesa plurality of variably and scalably adjustable restraint receivingmembers. Association of the longitudinally disposed track system with avertically disposed track system; the addition or substitution of othersimilar track systems disposed in neighboring configurations arrangedthroughout a wide range of angular sweep; and a wide variety ofrestraining members and restraining element receiving elements, are alsoprovided.

DETAILED EXAMPLE OF SEVERAL REPRESENTATIVE EMBODIMENTS

In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, a sliding,volume-adjustable restraint receiving system is proposed, in which thedesired location of a plurality of restraint receiving members can bevariably and scalably adjusted, both before and after load introduction,so that overall load restraint is performed quickly, safely, efficientlyand with respect to the potential delicacy of the freight elements.

By way of a specific though non-limiting embodiment, assume a content ofconcert electronics and musical equipment is to be packed, temporarilystored and transported from one performance venue to another using alarge, multi-axle moving van. In this example, such equipment andelectronics are sometimes referred to generically as the freight or theload, whereas the interior storage space of the large, multi-axle movingvan is sometimes referred to as the container. Ordinarily skilledartisans will readily appreciate, however, that virtually any type offreight transported by a carrier means could be substituted for theexample freight, and any type of carrier having a generally (though notnecessarily uniformly) rectangular or other fixed interior storage spacecould be substituted for the example container means.

In the example embodiment, further assume that the owners of the freightwish to segregate the concert electronics and musical equipment,respectively, and that each portion of the freight should be stored andtransported in a secure, well-balanced manner that respects the inherentdelicacy of such items.

According to the present invention, then, an example storage andtransportation operation is as follows.

First, the musical equipment is typically stored toward the front of thecontainer, because load stability must be ensured, and in any event thefreight owner or managers desire that the musical instruments be removedlast, since it comprises the last equipment to be installed during thenew venue setup process. The concert electronics are needed earlier inthe setup process, as venue installation technicians will need to begininstallation and wiring connections before the musical instruments areneeded.

The interior surface of the container is equipped with a slidingtrack-like system that runs longitudinally along the side walls of thecontainer, so that restraining elements such as durable woven shippingstraps, their connecting means such as c-shaped clips or s-shaped clips,and their corresponding restraint receiving members can be easily slidalong a plurality of such longitudinally disposed tracks. For example,two such tracks can be provided, so that a first track runslongitudinally along an upper portion of the container's side wall in anorientation essentially parallel to the container's bottom surface, anda second track runs longitudinally along a lower portion of thecontainer's side wall in an orientation essentially parallel to both thecontainer's bottom surface and the first, uppermost track.

Additional tracks, for example a middle track running longitudinallyalong a middle portion of the container's side wall in an orientationessentially parallel to both the container's bottom surface and theuppermost and lowermost tracks, could also be provided. Naturally,n-number of such tracks, each running longitudinally or in conjunctionwith vertically adjustable tracks; a plurality of only verticallyadjustable tracks disposed in communication either with or without thelongitudinal members; vertically or longitudinally disposed tracksdisposed between previously existing tracks (for example, horizontallydisposed tracks installed in the “valleys” or lower spaces betweenexisting vertically mounted tracks, etc.); tracks which vary in angularorientation (e.g., at forty-five degree angles or other fixed or openlyadjustable angular orientations) and/or longitudinal or vertical lengthsor heights (so that entire lengths or heights of the containers or onlyportions thereof are so equipped) can be arranged in like manner.

Once the musical instruments are loaded in the desired manner, thevariable, scalable restraint application and connection means aremechanically engaged, for example, using a plurality of c-shaped ors-shaped clips or other known or future compatible connectorsestablished for the purposes of this invention, and the freight load isefficiently and reliably restrained in a well-balanced manner thatrespects the delicacy of the nature of the load. As those of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate, the restraining means can comprise oneor more appropriately suitable means such as freight straps, whetheradjustable or fixed; restraining chains, whether adjustable or fixed;load bars, whether telescoping or fixed, etc., or combinations thereof.

Continuing the example, then, a space between the instruments andelectronics is defined, the tracks and their restraint means areadjusted to provide a new forward movement restraint system; theequipment is loaded into the carrier in the desired configuration; andthe tracks and restraint elements are again adjusted behind the rearmostportion of the load and tightened in a manner that ensures balance anddelicacy as well as safe, efficient and repeatable restraint.

A great many other advantages and variations of the instant disclosurewill readily occur to an ordinarily skilled artisan, even if significantdepartures from the non-limiting disclosure of structures and operationsdescribed herein are practiced.

Nowhere in the art of record, however, whether considered alone or incombination, are methods and means for safely and efficiently adjustingthe interior volume spaces of an otherwise fixed-volume storage andtransportation container known or used in a manner consistent with theinstant disclosure.

The foregoing specification is provided for illustrative purposes only,and is not intended to describe all possible aspects of the presentinvention. Moreover, while the invention has been shown and described indetail with respect to several exemplary embodiments, those of ordinaryskill in the relevant arts will appreciate that minor changes to thedescription, and various other modifications, omissions and additionsmay also be made without departing from either the spirit or scopethereof.

1. A volume adjustable container system, said system comprising: asliding track system disposed longitudinally along the inside walls of acontainer; wherein said sliding track system further comprises aplurality of variably and scalably adjustable restraint receivingmembers.
 2. The volume adjustable container system of claim 1, saidlongitudinally disposed sliding track system is further disposed inmechanical communication with one or more vertically disposed restraintsystems.
 3. The volume adjustable container system of claim 1 whereinsaid plurality of variably and scalably adjustable restraint receivingmembers is further disposed in mechanical communication with one or morerestraining elements.
 4. The volume adjustable container system of claim3, wherein said one or more restraining elements further comprises oneor more of woven shipping straps, c-shaped clips and s-shaped clips. 5.The volume adjustable container system of claim 1, wherein saidrestraint receiving members are configured to slide either within orupon said longitudinally disposed sliding track system.
 6. The volumeadjustable container system of claim 2, wherein said restraint receivingmembers are configured to slide either within or upon said verticallydisposed restraint system.
 7. The volume adjustable container system ofclaim 1, further comprising one or more longitudinally disposed slidingtracks disposed in communication with each of the containers side walls,respectively.
 8. The volume adjustable container system of claim 1,further comprising one or more longitudinally disposed sliding tracksystems disposed in communication with one or more of either a ceilingsurface or floor surface of said container.
 9. The volume adjustablecontainer system of claim 2, wherein one or more tracks of saidlongitudinally disposed sliding track system and one or more tracks ofsaid vertically disposed sliding track system are variably orientedthrough an angular sweep of between zero and ninety degrees.
 10. Thevolume adjustable container system of claim 4, wherein said restrainingelements further comprise one or more of freight straps, whetheradjustable or fixed; restraining chains, whether adjustable or fixed;load bars, whether telescoping or fixed; and combinations thereof.